Kittens
by Amnestyyy
Summary: "Apparently cats really like me. And the customers are friendly enough. And really, those little furballs are just so adorable! It's like you're being paid to just cuddle with them and make sure they're fed and stuff! And there aren't really any difficult tasks for me to screw up, either." Modern Elsanna AU. Non-related.


**Hello, and welcome to _Kittens._ It's a cute little one-shot, for which I would love to take all the credit. But I cannot. T3l4m0n, a name I use in a lot of my author's notes because he's really, really awesome, actually thought this little thing here up. I just wrote it, because while T3l4m0n is really awesome, he's not the most motivated of writers. So, I do hope you enjoy, and if you do, check out some of my other stories.**

* * *

When the bell finally rang, Anna was the first to have all of her belongings packed into her bag. Naturally, this sudden shift in her behavior – Anna usually being the slow, clumsy one – did not go unnoticed by her best friend.

"What's gotten you so frantic?" Rapunzel asked, her eyebrows raised. "Is it a boy?"

Despite her hurry, Anna stopped for a moment, watching as her classmates filed out of the room. Her eyes lingered on the blonde in the back of the classroom, who was leisurely packing her pencils back into their case. Turning her attention back to the brunette next to her, she chuckled briefly.

"No boys, Rapunzel. I have to run for work."

"Work? Didn't they fire you at the theatre last week, because you kept spoiling the endings of _all_ the movies to your customers?"

"Yes, they did. And I still think that they shouldn't bring up the movies if they don't want to hear what I have to say about them!" Anna whined defensively. "But I found a new job."

"Really? That fast? Who would possibly want to hire you?"

Anna winced slightly at Rapunzel's words. She knew her friend didn't mean any harm – and with Anna's lack of finesse and coordination, the comment was certainly justified – but it stung a little nonetheless. "Geez, way to make me sound like a complete klutz. I got a job at the cat café that opened up a few days ago. Not that it's any of your business, of course."

"The one near the mall?"

"Do you know of any other cat cafes in town?"

"Well, no," Rapunzel admitted slowly.

"Well, then I guess it's that one, yes," Anna jibed playfully as she rolled her eyes. "Apparently cats really like me. And the customers are friendly enough. Nothing like the scum that visits the theatre all the time!"

"Anna-"

"And really, those little furballs are just so adorable! It's like you're being paid to just cuddle with them and make sure they're fed and stuff!"

"An-"

"And there aren't really any difficult tasks for me to screw up, either. The day before yesterday, I spilled coffee all over the main counter, and my boss was just-"

"ANNA!"

"What?" Anna asked, irked by Rapunzel's rude interrupting of her story.

"I thought you said you had to go to work… Aren't you going to be late?"

Turning her attention to the clock on the wall, Anna gasped. "You're right, gotta run, see you tomorrow, bye!" she uttered at a rapid pace, swinging her bag over her shoulder as she ran towards the door.

In her hasty departure, she was utterly unaware of her best friend sighing and shaking her head with an exasperated frown. Nor did she notice the quiet blonde, still sitting in the back of the classroom, where she had just placed her pencils in their case for the seventeenth time.

Rapunzel looked over her shoulder as she left the classroom as well. "Bye, Elsa. See you tomorrow!" she smiled to the blonde. As usual, Elsa only replied with a shy smile and a dip of her head.

* * *

It was rather cold outside, Elsa idly noticed, a small smile quirking her lips as she noticed the men and women around her pulling their scarves over their faces and their hats over their ears. She had never really been bothered by the cold, and temperatures like these were hardly an inconvenience for her.

Her smile grew a little wider as she noticed the first snowflakes of the season tumbling down from the grey skies above her. Contrary to most other people – who started moving faster to get to their destination – Elsa's steps slowed down to a lazy stroll. She had all the time in the world, and she was almost at her destination anyway.

There it was, right across the street. She'd read about it in the newspaper a while back, but hadn't really given it any thought. Surely enough, the small building couldn't be mistaken for anything else. The silhouettes of cats depicted on the windows were a clear indication that this was the cat café Anna had mentioned after math.

From her perch across the street, she could easily see the scratching poles, sofas, and climbable objects scattered throughout the shop, as well as the counter, where several men and women were drinking steaming hot beverages. Truth be told, Elsa was a little surprised at the amount of people in there.

She smiled at the sight of several cats playing around with some of the patrons. For a few moments, she considered getting a little closer to the window. It would make it that much easier to observe the adorableness going on in there.

That plan faded as quickly as the snowflakes landing on the street when she noticed a flurry of auburn hair bursting into the café from a backdoor. Anna. It had to be Anna. Who else could possess hair of such radiance? Again, a small smile quirked around Elsa's lips.

She wouldn't go in, though. Not today. Maybe not ever, but that remained to be seen.

Elsa continued watching the café for several more minutes before shrugging to herself. She briskly turned around and walked off, not noticing the redhead's gaze following her from behind the glass pane.

* * *

As it turned out, it would take Elsa two weeks before she was ready to enter the café. On a Tuesday afternoon – which was one of the afternoons during which Anna never worked, due to her tutoring English that particular afternoon.

Yes, Elsa had stalked Anna to be certain that she wouldn't accidentally run into the feisty redhead while playing with the cats and kittens. She'd only make a fool out of herself if she did, anyway. And as much as she wanted to catch Anna's attention, _that_ certainly wasn't the way she wanted to go about it.

So, for the time being, she'd decided to frequent Anna's workplace whenever the redhead wasn't actually working. It made her feel close to her, without actually having to be close. She often overheard Anna talking to her friends during classes, and Elsa took comfort in being able to place all the names and match them with faces – whether they belong to coworkers, patrons, or cats.

Still, she wasn't quite ready to actually _meet_ Anna. They had never exchanged more than a few words in the two years they had shared classes now. And each time Elsa's face would glow as bright as a dozen suns, she'd start stammering or making weird noises. In the end, those 'meetings' generally resulted in Elsa either embarrassing herself, or fleeing the scene.

 _Yes_ , Elsa thought to herself. _There's a long way to go. But I'm making progress, one step at a time_.

* * *

Anna was wheezing before she was even halfway to her destination. This was supposed to be a relaxed afternoon, hanging on the couch catching up on all the shows she hadn't been able to watch over the past few weeks.

When she had gotten the e-mail from her tutee that he couldn't make it to their session that day, Anna had sped home, changed into her pajamas, and fired up her laptop. And about ten minutes into the first episode she'd started, she had been disturbed by her infernal ringtone.

Apparently, the cat café had been swarmed by patrons this afternoon, and the scheduled workers couldn't handle the sheer amount of visitors. Her boss had sounded as if he were on the brink of crying when he begged her to come in as soon as possible – for double the pay, to recompense her for her trouble.

Naturally, Anna had obliged. Which was why she was now racing down the streets on her bicycle, wheezing and coughing as her lungs were set ablaze. When she reached her destination, she haphazardly dropped her mode of transportation in the back alley, before entering through the backdoor.

And indeed she encountered chaos inside. Oaken, her boss, was manning the register while Kristoff was dishing out tea and coffee as fast as he could. Anna quickly changed into her jersey, catching Oaken's attention. "If you're there, and Kristoff is taking care of the drinks, who's watching the patrons and the cats?"

"You are!" he replied over his shoulder, immediately returning his attention back to the business at hand.

Anna quickly made her way to the front, mingling with the patrons as they played around with the cats, or simply sat on the sofas, revering the furry reasons for them to come here in the first place as they were splayed out across their laps.

Unfortunately, it soon became clear why there always had to be someone supervising the patrons. Anna had to stop one of the children from force-feeding one of the cats, his mother busily chatting on her cellphone, apparently having forgotten about her son for the time being.

Anna zigzagged through the noisy crowd, assisting patrons and cats wherever possible. When she reached the seats furthest removed from the window, she was treated to a sight that brought a grin to her face. A woman of her age was sitting on the ground, playing with one of the older cats. She had apparently gotten so caught up in that activity, she hadn't kept an eye on her surroundings.

And now one of the kittens had gotten entangled in the French braid that hung down her back. The little creature had probably seen it dangling and thought it necessary to dig it's little claws into the soft material, now finding itself unable to get loose again.

As Anna moved in to help the blonde in unlatching the cute assailant, she recognized her as one of the girls from her class. The gorgeous blonde that always sat in the back and never spoke all that much – yet was adorably awkward whenever confronted.

Having released the kitten from its silken prison, Anna gently placed it in front of Elsa, smiling at the blonde. "Hey Elsa. I didn't know you'd be here!"

The blonde's crystal blue eyes widened visibly as she looked up at the redhead. "Anna? No! No, no, no. That can't be right. It's Tuesday!"

Anna cocked an eyebrow in her confusion. "Yes, it is? What's wrong about that?"

"You're not supposed to be here! You don't work on Tuesdays," Elsa muttered, more to herself than to Anna. She was about to ask how Elsa knew about her schedule when her face contorted with the realization that she'd just revealed knowing Anna's schedule by heart.

"I… I have to go!" she said, suddenly getting up, sweeping the non-existent dust off her jeans. Before Anna could respond, Elsa had already turned around and walked out of the door, ignoring Oaken's half-hearted protest about having paid for thirty more minutes.

"Well, that was odd if anything ever was," Anna muttered to herself. She didn't get much time to think about it though, her attention soon being drawn to another cat-astrophy.

* * *

Anna had thought Elsa's behavior in the cat café rather strange, which was why she'd decided that she would confront Elsa about it. Surely, if the blonde had some sort of problem with her, the two of them could just talk about that. Wasn't that what responsible adults did? Okay, sure, they weren't technically adults yet, but that didn't matter in this case, Anna thought.

However, actually getting a hold of Elsa proved to be more challenging than Anna had imagined. When she tried confronting the blonde after classes the following day, Rapunzel kept her distracted just long enough for Elsa to slip away and disappear into the mass of students in the hallway.

The day after, when she tried confronting Elsa during lunch period, she looked up at her as if she were a deer in the headlights of a truck, jumping off her seat and leaving the cafeteria before Anna could even comprehend what was going on. When she finally realized she should probably go after her, a throng of students had already blocked her view.

Friday, Elsa didn't even come to class. Anna wasn't sure whether Elsa took this whole "avoiding-Anna" thing way too seriously or whether there was actually something wrong with the blonde. However, as far as she knew, no one in school knew Elsa well enough to be able to answer that question. Elsa didn't talk to people often, although she was always kind and polite when approached. She never got too close to people, and no one even seemed to know where she lived. Which was odd, considering their city wasn't quite _that_ large.

During the weekend, Anna spent most of her time at the café. Both days were relatively slow, and Anna found that she had plenty of time for herself – time she often spent playing with the adorable little animals herself, or drinking hot chocolate while staring out of the window.

It was during the latter activity that Anna noticed Elsa walking up to the café, but on the sidewalk across the street. The blonde came _just_ close enough for her to be recognizable, only to swiftly turn around and leave again when she seemed to notice Anna. For once, she actually lamented the fiery colour of her hair…

And thus, she decided that it was time for a different approach. Clearly, approaching Elsa in school was too much of a hassle, and even if Anna could somehow corner her, she doubted how much useful information she'd get. And it was also evident that Elsa wouldn't be coming to the café as long as she was there.

"Kristoff!"

"Gee, Anna! No need to yell like that, I'm standing right behind you!"

"Oh, right… I need a favor!"

"And why would I grant you one of my highly-sought-after favors?"

Anna looked towards the ceiling, tapping her chin with her finger. "Hm, remember that time I put in a good word for you for the pretty brunette? Or the time I managed to convince those men that you comparing them to reindeer _wasn't_ an insult? Oh, there was also that incident with the-"

"Okay, okay! I get it, I owe you. Fine, spill it. What do you need?"

"Oh, it's nothing terribly bad or complicated," Anna smiled sweetly. "I just need you to give me a call when that blonde girl with the French braid comes in."

"You mean the one with the _really_ blonde hair?"

"Yes, that's the one!"

"Okay, but only on one condition. Don't scare her off. She's one of our best customers."

"Of course I won't scare her off, Kristoff," Anna drawled, feigning to be hurt by his words. "I just want to get to know her a little better!"

* * *

The day Elsa would come into the café turned out to be the next Wednesday. Anna had no doubt that Elsa had scouted the café out before entering, and after Kristoff had called her, it took her only three minutes to get ready and leave home. She took a slightly different route than she normally did, making sure not to pass by the café's window.

Oaken was surprised to see Anna bursting through the backdoor, slightly out of breath and wiping the sweat of her forehead. Before he could say anything, Anna had already explained that she was here on a personal errand, and no, she did not expect to be paid for any time she would put in today.

As she stepped into the main room, she noticed that today was a relatively busy day. Which, of course, suited her just fine. Kristoff seemed to be handling most of the patrons quite well, and Anna quickly chipped in and helped out a few couples, slowly working her way towards the back.

Elsa was sitting in the back, three small kittens sleeping on her lap. Anna grinned to herself, watching as Elsa's attention was entirely on the small animals. Admittedly, the little critters were immensely adorable, and Anna was certain that even if she caught Elsa's attention now, the blonde wouldn't flee.

After all, that would require disturbing the little sleepers resting on her thighs. The entire situation could not have been better even if Anna would have tried. The redhead gently lowered herself onto a plush chair across from Elsa, who still hadn't noticed her.

"Please don't run," she said softly.

Elsa's head whipped up, something akin to terror in her icy blue eyes. She shifted her gaze between Anna and the kittens a few times, as if she were considering the best course of action. Clearly, she decided that disturbing the kittens wasn't worth it, and she sighed warily.

"What do you want?"

Anna was a little taken aback my Elsa's directness. "I… just wanted to talk to you? Honestly, I've been thinking about the last time I met you here… How you suddenly… well, _fled_. And then how you've evaded me in school… It's just… It's clear that you don't like me very much, and that makes me unhappy. So I guess I wanted to ask what I did to make it so?"

Anna felt her voice breaking towards the end of her little speech. It was silly, she knew, to be overtaken by emotions like this. But, honestly, she was the perfect social butterfly and everyone had _always_ liked her. And while, deep down, she knew that it wouldn't always be like that, it did hurt that Elsa went out of her way to steer clear of Anna, without the redhead even knowing what she'd done to deserve such a treatment.

Again, Elsa's eyes went wide, though this time the terror was overtaken by something else. If Anna didn't know any better, she'd have called it regret or… sadness?

"Anna…" she started, apparently having trouble to maintain eye-contact. "It's not that I don't like you…"

Anna patiently waited for the continuation of the sentence, but nothing came for a long time. Elsa idly played with one of the kitten's ears, a sad little smile playing on her lips. "If anything, I think I might like you too much."

That statement puzzled Anna for a while. Was it possible to be liked too much? She didn't think anyone had ever liked her _too much_. "I'm not sure what you mean?"

Elsa seemed to curl into herself even more as the conversation went on. Her voice was small and feeble when she spoke again, and Anna had to concentrate to catch the words at all. "I mean that I _like_ you. You know, like a man can like a woman?"

Anna opened her mouth to reply, but was immediately cut off by Elsa, her voice now a little stronger. "I know, I know! We're both girls, and it's weird and I'm awkward and you're popular, and I'm plain and you definitely are not. And you probably have a boyfriend, and we don't even really know each other, so this is totally weird, and that's all my fault, because I'm weird like this sometimes. But I never wanted to make you feel like I did, and I'm really sorry for that!"

Anna had patiently waited for Elsa to finish her little ramble. "Okay, I have six things I'd like to say to that," she started. "First off, your apology is accepted. Secondly, I don't have a boyfriend. Also, you are anything _but_ plain. Yes, you are a little awkward, but that's actually a little adorable. And I don't see why the two of us being girls would make things any more weird or awkward than it already is."

There was a brief silence between them, which Elsa eventually broke. "What's the sixth thing you wanted to say?"

Anna's smile grew a little crooked.

"I was actually hoping to ask you out on a date."


End file.
